More Air Compressor advice needed

[big]

I'm after a compressor for mainly spraying duties - a house exterior in masonry paint, and 20 ledge and brace doors in F&B eggshell..
Would something like an Axminster 3hp be oK for this, as well as being used for general motorcycle/car maintenance stuuf as well?
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[JackL]

I would have thought that the compressor would be running continuously in order to spray a house with masonry paint, that I imagine is quite thick.
My guess is that it would give up the ghost after about an hour or so - but then I'm no expert on masonry paint.
No doubt someone with a far superior knowledge of paint and compressors will soon be along to answer your question more fully.

 

[big]

To add to the entertainment, the house is pebbledashed and up to 3 floors high!
So it's possible i'd need a 3 phase or petrol compressor to do the job?
I presume it'd be OK for 72"x30" doors..

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, do you have the spray gun already? What is it's CFM rating. The compressor you are looking at is rated at 10CFM so if your gun requires more then a more powerful compressor will be needed.

Steve.

 

[big]

Spray gun wot I haven't bought yet is the Axminster one called "general purpose" and rated as 10cfm..

 

[Anonymous]

Once the tank runs below it's lower limit which will be quite quick using 10 CFM the motor will have to kick in and will run the gun just about but not fill the tank. To spray a house will take a fair amount of time so this compressor will be running all the time so what you will need to know is what is the duty cycle of this machine? If it is 50/50 then it means you can run it all the time for 30 mins out of 60 mins without harming the compressor. Basicly at this made up duty cycle you would be able to spray for half an hour then would have to let it cool down for half an hour.

If you need to spray for long periods then finding out the duty cycle is important or get a bigger receiver.

Steve.

 

[woodbutcher]

hi big,

you need a dedicated hvlp spray system like the erlex they can handle your spraying requiments.

woodbutcher.

 

[gidon]

Big
I bought that compressor for spraying. I think it's up to it - although as mentioned you may find the pump running constantly.
You can get 60 foot hoses cheaply so the height of your house is probably not a problem.
I have little experience of spraying (only just getting into it) and have no idea how easy masonary paint is to spray. But it'll be fine for your doors.
It is a big beast and although it has wheels it's not really portable!
As mentioned on another post - I had problems with my Axminster one and went for the SIP version.
For portability an turbine driven HVLP gun may be more suitable. The reason I went for a compressor driven HVLP system was it gave me a good excuse to upgrade my compressor which I use for lots of other things.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[Shultzy]

Big, I think it would be a mistake to spray your masonry paint. The main reason is the thickness of paint put on with a spray gun. There are many on this site who will be able to say how many coats of spray will give the same as two brush or roller coats, which is the minimum I would put on, I would suspect 5 or 6. There is also the problem of masking out all the windows and doors, not easy from a ladder.

 

[big]

Cheers chaps!
After consultation with Mr Axminster I bought a dedicated HVLP spraying system - it means at some point I may need a compressor for airline and mosickle duties, but it'll do the spraying job much better..
Review to follow...

 

[gidon]

Big - what did you go for?
Having looked into this a lot recently - a turbine based HVLP system (if that's what you've gone for) doesn't necessarily do a better job than a compressor driven HVLP system. The main advantage is portability. But the big advantage of compressor driven HVLP spraying is that it will cope with a greater variety of finishes. (Plus you get the compressor for other things).
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[RogerS]

It's worth checking with the paint manufacturer to see if the paint can be sprayed/how much it needs thinning and what sort of pressure/equipment you need.

I wanted to use Farrow and Ball paint but, after talking to their technical department, it turned out that I could use a sprayer but the equipment I would need would cost a small fortune.

 

[Digit]

Can you thin masonry paint? After all, it contains solid particles that have got to pass through the spray gun.

Roy.

 

[johnnyb]

masonry paint (smooth only) should be sprayed with an airless sprayer. this is a bit like a special pressure washer and can run at very high pressure and even spray upside down. this will spray all decorating type materials (and lacquers) without thinning, it will also have a hose that will reach three stories. can be expensive though(why not hire) to spray emulsion with any other system would require excessive thinning with flow additive (floetrol) the other secret is to use quality paint as cheaper paint tends to block the filters.

 

[Admiral]

I ditto what Johnnyb said. Notwithstanding the nature of the paint being sprayed, the gun and compressor combination you are contemplating would be at its design limits for any spraying task, but may do for smaller scale projects. A house is another matter entirely, and the nature of the paint has to be taken into account.

I would suggest you inquire about renting an airless sprayer for the house job. RN